Don't Let Obstacles Stand In the Way of Your Goal
The United States' political machine is a two-party system. State legislatures across the country are filled with either Republicans or Democrats, with a few third party candidates sprinkled in there for good measure.
The American electoral process is complex and multi-faceted. The complexities multiply when electing the President of the United States.
I am a firm believer in abolishing the archaic electoral college. If the president was elected by the popular vote rather than the electoral vote, the list of American presidents would look very, very different. However, that's a conversation for another time.
Before the votes were finalized, President Trump was promoting the idea of massive nationwide election fraud. He said if he lost the election, he would not concede and he was certain the election was rigged.
As a result, the mainstream media dubbed the president's theory "The Big Lie." Ironically enough, only the states Joe Biden won were the ones where there was widespread voter fraud.
Social media played its part in the conspiracy theory. People began sharing stories of lockboxes full of votes were being cracked open and the ballots were being burned and destroyed. Stories of scores of dead people voting for Biden also spread like wildfire. In the end, there was not one single credible instance of widespread fraud.
But in the world of alternative facts, the truth didn't really matter. Across the country, Republicans and Neo-Republicans began clamoring for election reform. Some state legislatures were swift to react to the non-problem.
Georgia passed legislation designed to make voting difficult for certain segments of the population. African-American, Hispanic, and other minority group voting advocates argue these new laws are meant to make voting difficult for people of color; groups that have historically voted Denocrat in the modern-era.
Texas followed Georgia's lead and introduced Senate Bill 7. The Republicans in the Texas Senate introduced legislation that mimics what Georgia's state legislatures calls for. The bill passed the senate and was sent to the Texas House of Representatives. However, today marks the second time Texas House Democrats have avoided attending the vote in Austin. The first time, Texas Democrats walked out of the session. Today, the majority of House Democrats boarded charter flights at Austin-Bergstron International Airport and headed to Washington, D.C.
Texas House Democrats are trying to block these restricting requirements from reaching the governor's desk.
I am not a fan of these political theatrics. It's sad the Texas legislature is wasting its time on these partisan publicity stunts. For better or for worse, the majority of Texans decided to make the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives majority Republican. The result of which is Republicans have a greater chance of pushing their laws and agenda into the law books.
If Democrats want to do the same, Democrats should go to the polls and vote more Democrats into office.
For the record, I am vehemently against Senate Bill 7. I think voter fraud across the country happens so infrequently, it shouldn't be harder to vote in this country; it should be easier.
However, I present the following idea for your consideration:
If the Republicans want to change the rules, why not play by them and beat the Republicans at their own game?
Before you train your sights on me, hear me out. Elections don't creep up on the American people. They happen at the same time of the year like clockwork. You don't have to vote every day. You usually have to vote once during the primary, once during the general election, and once in the case of a runoff election. That's three times you have to cast a ballot in any given election cycle. There are 365 days in a year.
Also, voting doesn't take all day. Yes, sometimes you have to wait in line for a while, but if you vote early, there are times polling stations are relatively deserted. In other words, if you plan accordingly, voting isn't that big of a chore.
Now, let's examine some of the provisions of SB7. The first limits weekday earky voting from 6AM to 9PM. That increases the time for early voting. That's 15 hours every day during the week when you can go vote.
Another provision limits Sunday voting from 1PM to 9PM. That's an eight hour window for voting on Sunday. In case you didn't make time out of your busy schedule the other six days out of the week, you still have eight hours on Sunday when you can go vote.
It would also be illegal to send mail-in ballots to people who didn't request one. Why would people want mail-in ballots to be sent to someone unsolicited? If you want a mail-in ballot, you can request one. Nobody is denying anybidy a mail-in ballot.
Another requirement would be absentee ballots would need to have the voter's ID number on them in order to be valid. Since when have you been able to function in society without providing ID? When you go to the bank to withdrawal money, the bank teller doesn't just give you money because you say who you are. You need a picture ID to conduct business. If you want to purchase a firearm or alcohol, you have to provide ID. Why should voting be any different?
You don't need to drive to have a state-issued ID. You need identification for almost anything you want to do in life.
The bill also bans drive-up voting. This was something that was being done during the pandemic; it is not something that was always allowed.
Freedom isn't free. Democracy isn't free. It takes effort. I've never subscribed to the theory that says "if you don't vote, you can't complain." Of course you can. You have Freedom of Speech and freedom of expression. However, if you want Senate Bill 7 to be reversed, go vote for a Democrat as your state senator and state representative.
Don't rely on the minority in the state house to perform a stunt and go into hiding. Go out, vote, make the minority the majority, and cancel out what the Republicans want to do
Prove Republicans wrong. Show them that regardless of the obstacles they put in your way, no politician, no law, and no requirement is going to stand between your right to vote.
Voting restrictions have been trying to keep people from voting since elections decided who our first government representatives were put in office. Voters have cleared obstacles based on wealth, gender, and ethnicity; voters survived grandfather clauses, literacy tests, and poll taxes. If voters can survive the times when people were killed trying to register African-Americans to vote, we should be able to band together to beat the Republicans and their new rules.
You play by their new rules, and you best them at their own game.
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